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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez gives the ball to manager, Davey Johnson, left, as he leaves the game, during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Monday, Aug. 13, 2012 in San Francisco, Calif. Kurt Suzuki is second from left, and Danny Espinosa is at right. (AP Photo/George Nikitin)
Hawaii’s Kurt Suzuki drove in four runs, Danny Espinosa and Roger Bernadina each knocked in three, and the Nationals routed the Giants 14-2 Monday night in a matchup of NL division leaders.
“Most importantly they came up big and gave me something to work with,” Gio Gonzalez said. “My thought from the get-go was just to maintain, especially with the pitcher they had today. He’s not an easy guy to go out there and get a couple of runs off of, and right off the bat these guys are swinging the bat. Can’t complain with some runs.”
Gonzalez (15-6) tied a Nationals record for wins in a season, boosted by Washington’s highest-scoring game of the season.
The Nationals led 14-0 in the fifth inning and won for the 11th time in 13 games. They are 7-1 on this road trip.
NL ERA leader Ryan Vogelsong (10-6) allowed eight runs and nine hits in 2 2-3 innings, his shortest outing of the season.
Pinch hitter Brandon Crawford homered and drove in both runs for the Giants, who have lost three of five. San Francisco dropped into a tie with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL West lead.
“There’s not a whole lot to say,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “What could go wrong went wrong and they made some pretty good contact. They placed the ball well and we couldn’t stop it.”
Gonzalez returned to the Bay Area for the first time since the Oakland Athletics traded him to the Nationals during the offseason. He won his second straight after going 1-3 in his five previous starts.
Gonzalez gave up two runs and six hits over 6 2-3 innings.
Every Nationals position player, with the exception of late-inning replacement Cesar Izturis, either scored a run, drove in a run or got a hit. Bernadina had four of Washington’s 21 hits, and Steve Lombardozzi, Ryan Zimmerman, Espinosa and Suzuki each had three. Suzuki’s three-run double capped a seven-run third that made it 8-0.
The 21 hits were most by a visiting team at AT&T Park.
Vogelsong ended up with the fourth-best ERA in the NL. Of the 19 batters he faced, 11 reached base. He hadn’t pitched fewer than six innings in any of his previous starts this season, and hadn’t allowed more than two runs in his 11 previous home starts.
“Sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way, it’s part of the game,” Vogelsong said. “I felt like I made the pitches I wanted to make with the exception of the fastball to Suzuki. That’s the only ball I left over the middle of the plate.”
